Trips here and there

Jephson Gardens, Leamington, June 2026

What with all the moving house and everything we lost momentum on the organisation of our annual ski trip. I'd been working with JW and JD for a while, choosing from a selection of dates, countries, resorts and accommodation types. We found a moment to revive the project, and now we are booked into a self-catering apartment in Ischgl, Austria at the beginning of February next year. One job crossed off my list. Except that now I have to work out how to get there and back.

Mum was slightly appalled by the length of my list of jobs, but it's the only way I can get through without forgetting important things. For example I am reminded of the need to keep chasing things like insurance renewal and quotes for work on the kitchen as well as keeping track of the refunds I'm owed for council tax, utilities and broadband. And the rest.

Recent trips out with mum: two, one to her friend who has been having treatment for cancer and then on to Lidl, and another trip to get ericaceous compost for the heather plant she bought on the first trip. While Lola II is away on holiday she has also given mum the responsibility for caring for a plant that needs a strict regime of 14 hours in darkness, so mum's green fingers are glowing emerald.

Meanwhile I took myself off to Mr M and Lola II for a very short break, since they were in the midst of preparing to go on the holiday mentioned above. I helped Lola II focus on clearing her room while she helped me focus on photographing the contents of six boxes of kitchen stuff that we offered to the rest of the family so that whatever is unwanted can finally leave the premises. [I estimate that mum and I are about three-quarters of the way through the process of merging the two households.] Then we entertained ourselves with a real treat - Lola II's new Spirograph kit, which she intends to lend to friends who have a similar nostalgic attachment to this amazing toy.

Back home, and my first session with my new Personal Trainer, Muscles 2. The sessions take place in a gym, and he must have thought I was joking when I said I wasn't going to do anything without my music on, because that stipulation was completely ignored and I had to endure the din that was being broadcast throughout the gym. As a first 'get to know each other' session it was OK - he worked me a bit too hard on the shoulders which are now quite sore, but the real issue is the music! I've paid up front for five sessions, but I'm also considering exploring other options.

Another trip out in between contemplating storage jars and two households' combined cutlery collection was to Tate Britain to meet a Buddhist friend who comes from Croydon. I'm sure I haven't visited Tate Britain since I was a child, and maybe not even then. My friend is a member so presumably knows the place quite well, but we wandered randomly from room to room, and sometimes a new room felt like a whole new realm as we switched from Pre-Raphaelite to some strange and modern installation then back to the nineteenth century and then to Henry Moore. They don't half have a lot of Turner.

Decorator Dave came to quote for redecoration of the kitchen, the insurance job that keeps on giving. I liked him and would like to give him the job, but I wonder if this is just the hope that comes with novelty and he will eventually become difficult to get hold of and pin down for a date just like all the others.

Lastly (for now) I visited Eastbury Manor House as part of London's Open House Festival, which "opens up and celebrates the city’s architecture, special sites and neighbourhoods." The added bonus is that the normal admission price is not charged. It's a Grade I listed 16th century manor house that once stood alone between Barking and Rainham surrounded by farmland right down to the Thames. It was very nearly demolished before World War I and has managed to retain just the gardens around it - otherwise it's now completely surrounded by housing. I joined a tour led by the Curator who described the work that's been done recently and what's planned, so I'd be interested in going back again next year when the gardens might be little more developed.

Mainly snow and water

Lake Tueda, Meribel Mottaret, February 2026

The skiing holiday was another good one, affected only slightly by one of our party (P) falling on the third day. Sitting on the piste, he was in immense pain around the left shoulder and thought it was dislocated; the paramedic on skis (Damien) thought it probably wasn't. Damien called an ambulance which arrived very promptly and delivered the patient to the local medical centre, where an X-ray confirmed a break right through the humerus just below the shoulder. P came back in a brace along with industrial strength French painkillers, including opium powder. We all hoped he would start wearing a smoking jacket and writing romantic poetry, but no, he just winced and went a bit grey and silent whenever the shoulder was disturbed. There followed some discussion with the insurance company, who finally came up with a plan to fly him home, accompanied by his wife, on the same day that the rest of us came home by train.

Aside from that notable event, the rest of the holiday went very well. In advance it had looked as though the weather would be very bad, but actually the clouds came in and it started to snow only on the last day. I went out with JW anyway despite the difficult conditions, and enjoyed his graceful dives into a couple of soft snow drifts. It started to snow again when it was lunchtime and we were just next to a restaurant; when we were ready to carry on the snow had stopped, so that was perfect.

One afternoon I decided to stay out a bit longer than my companions, and confirmed the fact that I have absolutely no sense of direction or navigational skills. I planned a route that would definitely not take me into an adjacent valley, only to find myself in the adjacent valley on a slope that was challenging to say the least. I managed to get myself back, but skied for about an hour longer than was sensible.

Back home I had to return to all the aspects of life that disappear on holiday. I took mum for a CT scan, which she found very helpful and I found very interesting. My main role was translating and transmitting whatever the various clinicians say to mum because they a) mumble and/or speak very fast b) use jargon c) have strong accents and d) don't look at her when they talk. 

At Lola Towers there is still water penetrating through my front wall. Glf (current favourite of all my tradesmen) came and had a look and we have a plan that includes contacting Severn Trent Water to see if it might be a leak around the water meter. The third estate agent visited; his estimate comes somewhere between the first and the second. Before I put it on the market I have decided to get the front painted, if it ever stops raining. I'm still waiting for a decorator to give me a date before the end of February to do some of the interior painting that's needed, and if we get on OK I'll ask if he'll do the outside work too. If not, estate agent 2 gave me a possible lead.

Skiing and skydiving

Les Arcs 2000, January 2024

I'm still a bit childishly overexcited with all that's gone on since the last blog post, but let's start at the beginning. The first thing was a weekend Buddhist retreat for people who are part of small groups like ours. I always come away with new ideas and enthusiasm and this time was no exception, with the added complication that I'm pretty sure the decaffeinated tea was mislabelled. So: extra energy during the retreat, and a stonking caffeine withdrawal migraine on Tuesday.

I've been to see the parents two or three times, and the shower conversion has been started by very pleasant workmen. Mum had a nasty experience with pain followed by a trip to A&E - she rates paramedics very highly, A&E doctors not so much. But when I saw her this week she was dosed up and pain-free. We have the usual long list of jobs to be done - liaison with neighbours over garden fences, reliable carers to be found, a wound that needs to be reviewed by the GP... I was impressed by her stamina given that I can only be there for a few hours and we work pretty hard.

Then there was a week skiing in France with JW and JD and their son and his friends and our friends - we were a group of 9 altogether, and split up during the day mostly according to skiing ability and during the evening mostly according to age. We travelled by train - Eurostar and TGV - and funicular and bus, and the weather was sunny and dry except for one afternoon. The resort could do with a bit of fresh snow, but on the whole it was wonderful. I used my new hat with attached crocheted beard (thank you Lola II) and got no reaction from anyone. Perhaps it looked a bit too realistic.

On the day we came back there were UK rail strikes, so those trying to get back to Cambridge had a bit of trouble - two managed to find a train and a bus replacement service, two decided to stay in London for an extra night. Luckily I only had to go back to Lola II and Mr M's house, because the next day we had arranged to do Indoor Skydiving as part of Lola II's Belated Birthday Events, postponed from her actual birthday in 2020 due to Circumstances.

Indoor Skydiving is done in a large tube with a huge fan at the bottom blowing air upwards. We watched a very entertaining training video and signed a waiver beforehand, but any shoulder injury is enough to rule you out, so sadly Mr M with his frozen shoulder couldn't take part. Luckily he agreed to take pictures and video, so we have a wonderful record of what happened. There were six of us, and we were kitted out with helmet, goggles, flying suit and (optional) earplugs. Our instructor Ellie checked that we knew all the hand signals for straightening and bending our legs, keeping our chin up, and relaxing. Then we filed into the tube.

It was one of the most exciting and wonderful things I've ever done. Up to that point the closest thing to flying that I've done has been skiing, and we know that I have always wanted to fly - like a bird, not in a plane. Each of our two 'flights' were only one minute long, and some people had a bit of trouble getting their balance and needed a lot of support from the instructor, but watching the video back both Lola II and I were among the best. We both took the option of being taken up higher in the tube for the second flight, which seemingly had to be done by a different instructor.

As I'm writing this it's two days later and I'm still grinning from ear to ear whenever I think about it, and I've watched the video many times. Our nephew and his wife even signed up on the spot for a future flight, but I've had a look and there isn't a convenient option that's local to me. If Mr M's shoulder recovers and he wants to try it, Lola II and I will definitely join him, especially as they are very good at finding discounts to make it more affordable. 

New Year was in June

Sheafhayne Manor, June 2023 (photo credit: Lola II)

Many times, a group of my friends and their partners have gathered in some large house to celebrate the New Year. Up until now, this has always taken place in December and January, but this year we gathered in June and reaped the benefit of warmer weather and light levels that allowed walking beyond 3pm, not to mention the joy of eating dinner outside.

We returned to the house in Devon where we'd spent the last holiday at New Year (2021-22), but with fewer people: only eleven of us this time. I drove with Lola II and Mr M, stopping for lunch on the way and then doing a major supermarket shop for the group before arrival and the process of picking bedrooms - we all chose a different room from the one we'd had before.

Over the week we went on long walks and shorter walks, those who brought bikes went cycling, we cooked for one another and ate out at cafes and restaurants, visited National Trust houses and their gardens, played games and attempted a fiendish jigsaw which remained unfinished at the end of the week when it was time to go home. 

A Buddhist friend of mine who used to live in Stratford before she moved to Devon joined us for one walk. Two of our number revealed that the reason that they had to leave us for two days in the middle was because one of them was going to become Irish on Tuesday afternoon. They drove and sailed all the way back to Ireland, attended the citizenship ceremony and drove and sailed back, then cooked us a barbeque in the evening in a truly heroic fashion. So we were nine Brits, one Australian and one European when we arrived, and eight Brits, one Australian and two Europeans when we departed.

The Bursar and Lola II, Sidmouth promenade

Games played were Pitchstorm, Codenames and the Bucket Game; places visited included coastal towns Beer, Branscombe and Sidmouth; National Trust sites were Montacute House and Killerton, both of which were delightful and included interesting walks as well as interesting properties. Killerton was my favourite, due to the enthusiastic volunteers who were keen to share as much information as you were prepared to listen to, and encouraged interaction to the extent of actually being able to look at books in the library and to play their piano and organ. Luckily our party included a competent pianist (not me) who had been practising tunes for singing back at the Manor. So Killerton was treated to a rendition of Life on Mars on the organ, which was lovely.

Mr MXF was the most enthusiastic cyclist and rode off early every morning to bring back breakfast pastries. Both our Europeans and Lola II and Mr M all brought whisky and Lola II made her signature gulloeblobs consisting of stem ginger in chocolate. The weather was so good that we ate outside nearly every evening. It was a wonderful and relaxing holiday with people who are easy to get along with, and due to the Splitwise app we didn't even need to do the convoluted accounting to work out what everyone owed everyone else.

Sidmouth, June 2023 (photo credit: Lola II)

The Games - part 2

Victoria Park, August 2022

While all that badminton stuff was going on at the Commonwealth Games, or 'Birmingham 2022' as it was known in the press and on all the logos, Lolatastic life continued apace. There was a bike service, a comedy gig, a stay in hospital, visitors to Lola Towers, the putting up and taking down of the Lola Towers garden extension (aka the tent), a trip to Lockwoods outdoor supplies shop, Ukrainian news, and the Games in Leamington Spa.

On that last subject I would like to direct your attention to two articles in the press. The first article is the more staid, traditional form of reportage by the staid, traditional BBC, especially notable for the quote from the 'general manager' of Pub Next Door. I put his role in quotation marks because to me he seems little more than a teenager, but I expect he's at least 30. The second article is from The Guardian and is much more amusing but no less accurate for that. Bowling in Leamington Spa has never felt more exciting. I happened to pass the main entrance at one point, where I encountered a very jolly volunteer with a megaphone sitting atop a high chair, whose job was to welcome spectators to the park by shouting interesting information about Lawn Bowls and the Commonwealth Games in years gone by.

I've already described some of the disruption in my local area, but that was during preparations leading up to the start. When the event actually began the level of security escalated enormously, particularly at the end of the road, where a number of the huge lens-shaped obstructions that I've seen protecting Parliament were installed a couple of days before the start, and then additionally a large and heavy horizontal barrier was constructed. I regret not taking pictures (I was too busy and kept forgetting), but as well as the orange-and-grey-clad volunteers there were stewards and security in hi-vis, Army chaps in camouflage, ordinary uniformed coppers and policemen WITH GUNS, all milling about at the end of the road as visitors arrived with their tickets for the bowling and residents wandered through with pushchairs and shopping bags and dogs.

My first guests (JW+JD) arrived by car as they were stopping on the way to their holiday in Cornwall, and I made sure to be at the barrier brandishing my resident's credentials otherwise they would have been turned away by a ruthless official in hi-vis jacket. Later in the week I received one of my frequent incorrect delivery attempts (intended for a house in the Road instead of the Street) from an Asda delivery man, wearing an Asda shirt and carrying heavy trays of Asda groceries whose Asda van had not been allowed past the barrier so had to deliver it all by hand.

The evening that the first guests arrived was also the evening that dad was taken to hospital with sepsis. Lola II just happened to be visiting at the time, so she was able to go with him and make sure all was well. He was in hospital for nearly two weeks, but home now.

JW+JD had tickets for the Rugby Sevens, Squash, Badminton, Cricket and Athletics; the next guests to arrive were Lola II and Cousin Y who had tickets for Hockey and were accompanied by Mr M who didn't have tickets for anything. I took up the residents' offer of free tickets for Lawn Bowls so he went to that. JW+JD headed off for Cornwall, Cousin Y went back to London, Lola II and Mr M had an extra night before they went home and then Mr MXF and BL2 arrived ready for Cycling, Diving, Athletics and Lawn Bowls courtesy of another pair of free tickets. By the time they all went home the house seemed very quiet.

While all this was going on, I was also in communication with Ukraine Jane 2, who is from Kherson but taking refuge in Poland. We introduced ourselves to one another, had a short conversation via WhatsApp, applied for the visa, the visa was granted and we worked out when and how she would get here, all within the space of just 8 days. Then two days later she announced she wasn't coming here after all but going to Slovakia for family reasons. And then, the very next day, the first UJ (the one with the cat) got back in touch to ask if the room was still available. I'll be speaking to her soon to find out her current situation.

The only other event of note was the visit to Lockwoods where Lola II wanted to buy some proper waterproof walking boots. Not only did we confuse the shop assistant by both of us being called Lola, but aside from the boot purchase the most notable aspect of the visit was that despite being over 50 years old, Lola II and I learned how to tie our shoelaces in a useful new way.

High Table

Lovely capital decoration at the gate of a restaurant, Cambridge, February 2022

Thanks to Lola II having another birthday, I was invited to attend 'High Table' at Christ's College, Cambridge. Lola II and Mr M had been holidaying in Cambridge for a couple of days before I turned up and had been royally entertained while lodging in The Bursar's Rooms in College. 

I had to give some consideration to my outfit, given that I no longer even have to be smart enough to go to work. I fished out the Lady Shoes, tried on the last smart thing I wore (for my nephew's wedding) but I felt it clashed with my slightly purple hair, found something else that would do, along with earrings and everything. As it turned out the Lady Shoes just had a weekend away without having to do any work as I wore ordinary shoes in the end.

The evening proper started with sherry in The Bursar's rooms. I discovered that we were going to Do Things Properly, even though it turned out that The Bursar had forgotten that students don't have the option to attend a formal dinner on a Saturday. So rather than actually being at the High Table in front of a load of undergrads and postgrads the six of us (The Bursar, Lola II, Mr M, me, JW and JD*) were dining very exclusively in the Senior Combination Room (just a fancy name for a wood panelled room with a dining table in it).

Despite being within that room, Doing Things Properly meant that we didn't sit down at the table until Tim the Deputy Butler came in and announced that Dinner Is Served. Also, The Bursar insisted on standing to read the Grace Before Meals, which in the main Dining Hall is quite long but with our small party was shortened to just two words. The table setting always includes a piece of College silverware, which in our case was something known as the FA Cup due to looking a bit like that trophy. On discussion with Tim it was replaced with a sculpture of a Yale** - a mythical creature similar to a goat with two horns pointing in different directions which features on the Lady Margaret's coat of arms, she being the college's Foundress.

We were served with three courses with wine and then, on a different table in front of the fireplace, with cheese and a different wine (after we had stood to receive The Bursar's Grace After Meals). In a further college tradition Lola II was presented with a bottle of wine by JW which was recorded in the latest of a series of books dating back many years. Entries other than the presentation of wine and port include various bets between college members and also fines awarded - in 1836 Mr Darwin (Charles, for he is a Christ's alumnus) was fined a bottle of wine for being 'too late in hall'. It was a lovely evening full of ancient tradition.

On Sunday Lola II and Mr M went to visit mum and dad, JD and JW went out for a cycle ride while I met another friend for a pub lunch and jigsaw exchange, and more friends for supper. The theme of Cambridge friends was extended to Monday when CERNoise (blog reader extraordinaire) came to visit me to survey the famed Lola Towers which she had previously only read about. "It really exists!" she exclaimed. We had lunch in my favourite Indian restaurant (Indian food being hard to find on the French/Swiss border) and had a short tour of Leamington, which sadly didn't put on its best weather for the visitor.

* JW and JD = new names for family JJL&J since L&J have grown up and moved out.

** Note from Mr M: The mythical Yale has no connection to the US university, which was named after an Irish benefactor whose name sounded like Yale. They do use a Yale (the animal) in places at Yale (the university), but only because it shares a name with the gentleman.